Bringing the Shovel Down

It feels like I read this book very quickly even though I read most of the poems at least 3 times. Not because that's my way of doing things (it's not), but because when I reached the end of many of the poems I would scream out "WHAT!" as in "what did I just read?!" and go back to feel it all again.......more

Ross Gay’s poetry collection, Bringing the Shovel Down, is splendidly powerful. He juxtaposes beautiful experiences alongside terrifying ones. He intertwines love and hate. He creates characters in a few lines who would otherwise require a whole novel. He transports us into the minds of characters s......more

I was ten poems into this collection and decidedly not digging it (pun not intended, but maintained after realization hah). It felt like Gay front-loaded pieces that played more with repetition and in general they felt more opaque, like the first instance of the Syndrome descriptions, where I had a......more

This poetry collection by Ross Gay is dark and musical. Some reoccurring themes are love, a child, a tragic father, women, bombs, glass, teeth, breakups, nature, violence, birds and other animals. I had fun reading many of the poems aloud, especially "Say It" because Ross creates great incantatory r......more

WOW! Very powerful pictures in Ross' words. If you enjoy poetry, you will LOVE this! Reading it was one thing. Having the wonderful experience of actually sitting in front of this poetic man while he recited multiple poems from this book was unforgettable. Everyone who loves poetry should have this......more